Bobcats and Emeka Okafor Close to Six-Year Deal
Though general perception of the Emeka Okafor-Charlotte contract negotiations was that they were somewhere in the toilet, the two sides have supposedly pulled out a lucrative multi-year extension to keep the former No. 2 pick a Bobcat. While the deal hasn’t been finalized, it’s rumored to be six years, $72 million - right in line with Andrew Bogut’s deal with Milwaukee.
Early in the summer it looked like Charlotte would have preferred to downgrade at center to save some coin - they offered DeSagana Diop a deal around the $5.6 million mid-level exception. But with the precedent set by Josh Childress , striking the fear of God that Okafor could play for the $7.1 million left on his deal next season before defecting, the Bobcats had to make a move instead of watching Okafor leave without having a chance to match a European contract.
Okafor is one of the guys from the constantly-maligned ‘04 men’s Olympic team who actually did see the floor under Larry Brown. Even though those guys came up short, Brown still endorses the center.
“I hope that it works out because I was with him a little while and he’s a terrific kid,” Brown said earlier this month. “He plays a position that’s very hard to find. And he’s the second pick in the draft. I’m sure we’ll do what’s right. Hopefully he’ll be here.”
Sure, Emeka’s averaged a double-double for the last four years (14.3 points, 10.9 boards per over his career), but is he worth $12 million per year?
Source: ESPN.com
July 29th, 2008 at 7:16 am
KoBayBay says:
First! and not 12 but more like 9
July 29th, 2008 at 7:16 am
the_don_mega says:
i think not…
July 29th, 2008 at 7:16 am
KoBayBay says:
scratch that i forgot lakers paid kwame 9 before too lol so YES he does deserve it
July 29th, 2008 at 7:34 am
TJ says:
Yes, it’s impossible to find good centers.
July 29th, 2008 at 7:46 am
YOUNGFED says:
Real Talk if your over 18 and still screaming 1st “KILL YO SELF”
July 29th, 2008 at 8:32 am
sans says:
Emeka was picked #1, right? Dwight Howard was picked dos behind him. Y’all ain’t that caught up in your draft re-do’s now…
July 29th, 2008 at 8:36 am
sans says:
…man, I was way off. Why do I have memories of people applauding the decision to take a college player first in the draft? Was that another recent year? Am I thinking of Bogut?
July 29th, 2008 at 8:46 am
MSkittle says:
Yea, he is underrated
July 29th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Kobeef says:
@Sans…yep..I bet the bobcats wish Dwight was taken second.
I still think this is a bad move for the bobcats. Emeka seems very average to me. He was playing beside Nazr Mohammed last year and sometimes got outplayed by him…Nazr Mohammed.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:13 am
I`CouldBeYourFather says:
Not worth 12 Mil, but if you’re giving it to Andrew Bogut, then you have to give it to Okafor.
Bogut is not better than Emeka! Period
July 29th, 2008 at 9:16 am
yoda says:
well, if you consider who gets about 10 mil per in league, this is not bad move. especially if he can play at lest 70+ games a year. he’s also good defender and blocker, which every team needs.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:05 am
jz_smoove says:
okafor and bogut, even biedrins are not 12M/yr players. The 10M and up range should be reserved for players that A) can carry a team offensively and defensively B) create their own shot C) is or close to a franchise player as you could get. those 3 are not.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:07 am
jz_smoove says:
in the background, lebron is secretly smiling. when he is ready to bolt from the Cavs in 2010, his inflated rate is going to be skyhigh. the inflation has begun and he slowly has the chance to become the first 200M guy in the NBA.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Celts Fan says:
That production and defensive enforcer role is definitely worth $12M per.
The problem is, the dude is injury prone. When you’ve missed OVER 100 GAMES in just a 4 year career, that should’ve been less, but sometimes you have to overpay to keep a guy like that (in Charlotte anyway. Maybe in LA, NYC, or Miami you could get away with it for the amazingness of the city.)
July 29th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Logan Light says:
Yes… so long as the Lakers medical staff doesn’t get a hold of him!
LL
July 29th, 2008 at 11:03 am
doc says:
I think he worth it.People down him but you need a dude like him on a WINNING team.He’s a mistake cleaner on D.His O lacking but he average 14 thats cool for a defensive big to me.Ben Wallace and them cant average 10.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:12 am
dagwaller says:
He’s worth it. jz, the types of players you’re talking about usually get 15 mil and up, and rightfully so. Ha, you pulled out 3 things that a complete star is supposed to do, and then said that they should only get 12 mil. You must be a Clippers fan or something.
July 29th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
wanabballer says:
I agree with jz_smoove. I mean 12 million a year? I know that big guys are hard to come by and all, but d***!! You can’t teach height, but pay scales are getting out of control!?!
July 29th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Sushi says:
I don’t understand why people bag on this guy but give Greg Oden love. They are more or less the same guy in my opinion. Big chunks of beef that you don’t want to see in the lane. Ever. Emeka’s done it against NBA guys, Greg’s only done college and the summer leaguers last year, yet Greg is the next Bill Russell and Emeka’s a scrub. Seriously, if Okafor was on a good team and not the ‘Cats, he’d be a sure-fire star.
FYI, I love Oden, but he needs to show me what he can do against the grown men in the league before I’ll dub him anything.
July 29th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
dagwaller says:
Well, wanabballer, which payscale do you think is fair? One from 1998? 1988?
It’s 2008. Inflation, growth of the league, and the rarity of true big men has dictated that guys that we know are only “pretty good” get paid more. It’s why a small forward that’s the 10th best small forward in the league might only get paid 10 mil, vs. Mek (for argument’s sake, we’ll call him the 10th best center), who’s getting 12 mil. Besides that, he’s more or less been the face of the franchise since it’s inception.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Tony says:
Isn’t Dwight “Superman” Howard getting paid like $13 mil/yr? So basically the Bobcats are saying Okafor is close in terms of ability to Howard?